unhabituated
- adjective
- /ˌʌn.həˈbɪtʃ.u.eɪ.tɪd/
- Specialized
- The animal remained unhabituated to the sound, reacting strongly each time it was played.
Examples
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Researchers observed that the subject was still unhabituated after several days of repeated exposure.
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The unhabituated subjects reacted strongly to the loud noise.
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Because the children were unhabituated to the new routine, they found it difficult to adjust.
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Children are often unhabituated to the sounds of the city.
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The dog remained unhabituated to the fireworks, barking loudly every time they went off.
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After moving to the new city, she felt unhabituated to the bustling environment and noise.
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The participants who were unhabituated to the experiment showed a significant response to the stimuli.
Synonyms
Not used to something because you have not done it often
Not familiar with a thing or situation
Antonyms
How Habituated
Surface Forms
Morphology
unhabituated = habituated (semi-transparent) = un + habituate + ed
The negation 'un-' applied to the adjective 'habituated' is a straightforward morphological operation.
Etymology
Unhabituated is made from un- 'not' and habituate, from the same root as habit, which means 'to make usual'. So, in psychology it means someone or an animal has not become used to a repeated sound or event and still reacts to it.